Wooster, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team put forth a valiant effort but in the end the 14^th-ranked Scots of Wooster were able to hold off the Yeomen, 94-86, on Wednesday night at Timken Gymnasium.
 
Junior Joshua Friedkin scored all his team-high 22 points in the second half to pace the Yeomen offense, while classmate Christian Fioretti battled foul trouble all night long and still posted 19 points. Fellow junior Andre Campbell recorded his fifth straight game in double digits as he netted 13 points, as senior Eli Silverman-Lloyd finished with 12.
 
The game was ultimately decided at the free throw line as the Scots were granted 42 charity tosses, marking the fourth-highest single-game total in their program history. Wooster would cash in 35 times at the stripe (second most in school history), which accounted for over 37 percent of their points in the game. However, the Yeomen also did damage at the free throw line as they deposited 17 of the 19 freebies they hoisted for an 89.5 percent success rate.
 
After a tightly contested opening stretch, the Yeomen would take a 16-12 lead on a Fioretti 3-pointer from the top of the key with just under 12 minutes to go in the half. The Scots answered back with a 9-2 response run to give them a five-point advantage at 23-18 with 9:09 left to expire. Wooster would later increase its lead out to 11 at 37-26 but the Yeomen crawled back to within six before the halftime horn would sound as they went into the locker room down 44-38.
 
Less than five minutes into the second half, Wooster built its lead out 11 at 57-46 but the Yeomen continued to stay within striking distance. The Yeomen trailed by 14 with 7:07 left to play but back-to-back triples from Hunter Bleeden and Friedkin quickly got the deficit back down to eight at 81-73. After going back down by 10, a personal 5-0 run by Friedkin made it a two possession game at 83-78 with just under five minutes to play.
 
After a couple missed opportunities by the Yeomen, they were forced to foul down the stretch to try and extend the game. It was 88-83 with 39 seconds to go and Danyon Hempy would go to the line and miss the front end of a one-and-one but was able to track down his own misfire. He would then step up to the line and miss again but the Scots got the offensive rebound once more and Reece Dupler would make them pay with two free throws.
 
Fioretti answered with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 20 ticks left to shrink the gap down to four at 90-86 but the Scots were able to ice the game away at the charity stripe.
 
The victory for the Scots gave them their league-leading 18th conference title and marked the 23^rd straight season with 20 or more wins as they are 20-4 overall and 15-2 in the NCAC. Oberlin saw its three-game winning streak come to an end, heading home at 13-11 and 9-8 in conference play.

The Yeomen shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the floor, which included a 9-of-22 (40.9%) showing from beyond the arc. The Scots, who won the rebounding battle 32-24, shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) in the win.
 
Oberlin will conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon at No. 24 Wabash. The Little Giants boast a 19-5 record and 13-4 mark in the NCAC. However, they have dropped four out of their last six games, which includes a 76-62 loss to Wittenberg tonight. Tip-off from Crawfordsville, Indiana, is set for 2 p.m.